Good morning, knitters! Yesterday was the first day of Advent, which means that the Christmas season is officially here! Since I was a child, Christmas has been inextricably linked to mittens; we got at least one new pair in our stockings each year. Warm, toasty, soft or scratchy, mittens meant love. I don’t think much has changed…it’s easy to say “I love you” with a new pair of wooly mittens, no matter how simple.
Mittens make great gifts! Over the next 4 weeks, I’m going to be posting about mittens, the various methods, thumbs, cuffs and shapings. I’ll be posting a free-for-a-limited-time mitten pattern every week and its matching hat pattern will be offered at 50% off in my Ravelry shop. Coupon codes are at the bottom of this post.
Once that nip creeps into the air, I get the urge to do stranded color work. There’s something about having both hands buried in fluffy softness and watching the pattern magically emerge that is so very satisfying. Today’s pattern, the Hay Bay Mittens, features a classic diamond and chevron motif with delicate falling snow. Beginning with classic Latvian braid and continuing with a simple two-color pattern, Hay Bay is just challenging enough to keep you engaged. You’ll have a pair in no time working in cozy worsted weight yarn.
The Hay Bay Mittens feature a standard thumb gusset, probably the most common way to shape a thumb, and super easy way to knit mittens. The thumb gusset begins right after the cuff is finished. Beginning at the base of the thumb (down where it meets the wrist), the strategy is to increase two stitches on each side of the thumb every 3rd round.
Once the desired number of thumb stitches have been obtained, these stitches will be held on waste yarn until you’re ready to complete the thumb. In the meantime, a few stitches will be picked up over the gusset and you can proceed with knitting the hand. Once that’s done, you can resume the thumb. See? Easy Peasy!
This week, I’m offering the Hay Bay Mittens, free until December 11. The matching Hay Bay Hat will be offered at 50% off. Coupon codes are HAYBAY1 for the mittens and HAYBAY2 for the hat. (Please feel free to share a link to this page, but don’t share the coupon code itself-Thanks!)
Paula @ Spin a Yarn
Thank you so much for the coupon codes. Those are lovely mittens!
Little Church Knits
So glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂